Is a boat bigger than a ship? Null results in the investigation of vowel sound symbolism on size judgments in real language

Sound symbolism is the phenomenon by which certain kinds of phonemes are associated with perceptual and/or semantic properties. In this paper we explored size sound symbolism (i.e., the mil/mal effect) in which high-front vowels (e.g., /i/) show an association with smallness, while low-back vowels (e.g., /ɑ/) show an association with largeness. This has previously been demonstrated with nonwords, but its impact on the processing of real language is unknown. We investigated this using a size judgment task, in which participants classified words for small or large objects, containing a small- or large-associated vowel, based on their size. Words were presented auditorily in Experiment 1 and visually in Experiment 2. We did not observe an effect of vowel congruence (i.e., between object size and the size association of its vowel) in either of the experiments. This suggests that there are limits to the impact of sound symbolism on the processing of real language.

From Phrase to Clause: The Active Participle in Ugaritic

This paper suggests a morphological, syntactic, and semantic analysis of the active participle in Ugaritic. The formally ambiguous cases are interpreted by taking into account the syntactic and semantic properties of explicit cases. The syntactic usages of the participle are the attributive phrase, the substantivized attributive phrase, the agent-noun, and the circumstantial participial phrase. The semantic analysis points at explicit verbal properties of some participial phrases in Ugaritic: they can denote a stage-level predicative core acquiring episodic interpretations and attaching temporal arguments. I hypothesize that the prototypical context for the development of the predicative participle (sporadically attested in the language of Ugaritic prose and consistently in later Northwest Semitic languages) is a participial phrase that suggests stage-level episodic interpretation and assigns subject that is co-referential with the main-clause subject.

When Gur class markers are absent: suffix omission in Natioro

The paper deals with the morphology of class marking in Natioro, an underdescribed Gur language spoken in several villages of Burkina Faso. In Natioro, class markers (which are a typical feature of Gur languages) are frequently omitted in many contexts, such as genitive constructions, as well as NPs modified by adjectives, numerals, and quantifiers. In the paper, I will focus on the morphological (rather than semantic) properties of these constructions. I will show that noun stems occurring in constructions with omitted class markers can be regarded as instances of incorporation. Particular attention will be given to adjectival incorporation. In Natioro, there are two types of adjectival constructions, which can be distinguished by the nature of the stems involved. I will argue that some of the incorporated constructions are derived by merging a noun with a non-inflected adjective, whereas others can be regarded as full-fledged adjectives that incorporate noun stems. Some parallels between the constructions of the latter type and constructions with relational nouns are discussed as well.

Judgments of Learning Reveal Conscious Access to Stimulus Memorability

Despite the massive capacity of visual long-term memory, individuals do not successfully encode all visual information they wish to remember. This variability in encoding success has been traditionally ascribed to fluctuations in individuals’ cognitive states (e.g., sustained attention) and differences in memory encoding processes (e.g., depth of encoding). However, recent work has shown that a considerable amount of variability in encoding success stems from intrinsic stimulus properties that determine the ease of encoding across individuals. While researchers have identified several perceptual and semantic properties that contribute to this stimulus memorability phenomenon, much remains unknown, including whether individuals are aware of the memorability of stimuli they encounter. In the present study, we investigated whether individuals have conscious access to the memorability of real-world stimuli while forming self-referential judgments of learning (JOL) during explicit memory encoding (Experiments 1A-B) and when asked about the perceived memorability of a stimulus in the absence of attempted encoding (Experiments 2A-B). We found that both JOLs and perceived memorability estimates were consistent across individuals and reliably predicted stimulus memorability. However, this apparent access to the properties that define memorability was not comprehensive. Individuals unexpectedly remembered and forgot consistent sets of stimuli as well. Thus, our findings demonstrate that individuals have conscious access to some—but not all—aspects of stimulus memorability and that this access exists regardless of the present demands on stimulus encoding.

Conceptualizing an Outside World

This article studies the concept of buitenland (the foreign) in a broad sample of Dutch newspapers in the period between 1815 and 1914. Buitenland emerged as a key concept in the nineteenth century. It referred to an “outside word” that was marked by semantic properties such as instability and closeness. As such, this apparently mundane spatial indicator bolstered the emergent “spatial regime” of globality and globalization. The article thus shows how a computational analysis of concepts that could be easily overlooked reveals structural transformations in the way past and present societies conceptualize (global) space.

Towards classification of stative verbs in view of corpus data

The paper presents work in progress on the compilation and automatic annotation of a dataset comprising examples of stative verbs in parallel Bulgarian-Russian corpora with the goal of facilitating the elaboration of a classification of stative verbs in the two languages based on their lexical and semantic properties. We extract stative verbs from the Bulgarian and the Russian WordNets with their assigned conceptual information (frames) from FrameNet. We then assign the set of probable Bulgarian and Russian stative verbs to the verb instances in a parallel Bulgarian-Russian corpus using WordNet correspondences to filter out unlikely stative candidates. Further, manual inspection will ensure high quality of the resource and its application for the purposes of semantic analysis.

Capturing Numerals and Pronouns at the Morphological Layer in the Prague Dependency Treebanks of Czech

The paper presents a novel and unified morphological description of numerals and pronouns, as compiled for the newest edition of the Prague Dependency Treebank (Prague Dependency Treebank – Consolidated 1.0) and its integral part the morphological dictionary MorfFlex. On the basis of considerable experience with real data annotation and the use of the morphological dictionary, particular changes were proposed. For both of the parts of speech a new set of subtypes was proposed, based mainly on the morphological criterion and its combination with semantic properties and other relevant features, such as definiteness in numerals and possessivity, reflexivity, and clitichood in pronouns. Each subtype has a specific value at the 2nd position of the morphological tag, which serves also as an indicator of the applicability of other tag categories.

The syntax of the particle qad in standard Arabic and Asiri Arabic

PurposeThis article studies the particle qad in standard Arabic (SA) and Asiri Arabic (AA). In SA, qad is pronounced as [qæd], whereas in AA it is pronounced as [q?d] and written as qid. Qad in SA is different from qid in AA regarding its functional use and syntactic distribution. Accordingly, the study discusses the semantics and selection properties of qad/qid.Design/methodology/approachContrasting analyses are presented to verify which syntactic analysis better suits extended projection principle (EPP) extension, and tree structures are provided to elucidate ongoing problematic configurations and to provide solutions.FindingsThe SA particle qad has three functions: (1) a probability modal, as in may or might; (2) a perfective auxiliary, as in have, has and had; and (3) indicating emphatic purpose, as in do, does and did. Contrariwise, qid in AA has two meanings: (1) have, has and had (perfective auxiliary); and (2) the past tense of the English copula was/became (a linking verb). Given this background, there has been a debate in the syntax literature about whether qid/qad is an adverb. The current article provides evidence indicating that qid and qad are not adverbs.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to the analysis of qid in Asiri dialect. Further research needs to be done on the different branches of the Asiri dialects according to the tribe. Sometimes, tribes have different sound for some words. There is not any literature review found on the Asiri dialects in the designated area of study; the particle qid.Practical implicationsThe study can be counted towards the Asiri linguistic heritage in documenting the syntactic and semantic properties of qid particle. The study contributes to the linguistic field of the Arabic language and its varieties.Social implicationsThe study offers a general review of the linguistic background of Asir region. The study introduces the reader to qad particle in SA and holds a comparison between the two researched versions of qad in SA and qid in AA.Originality/valueThe paradoxical analysis between qad and qid on all levels is presented (semantics, functional use, selection properties and level of configuration (EPP)). Also, it introduces the particle qid in AA as it was never investigated before.

Exposure of Reference and Sense in English Textbook of Elementary Students of Grade One

The objectives of this study were to describe the exposure of references in Elementary English textbooks. This study revealed that 96% in the attempt to teach the students the reference as the semantic properties of the objects. No systematic and organized attempts to expose the references which enable the students to develop their mental image critically and systematically. Exposure of senses is also found in the textbook although their occurrences are very few and limited in terms of number (4%) and types of sense. The sense exposed in the textbook is limited to attributes of various objects having the same expression and proper names. Systematic and purposeful organizations of this exposure are not found either. This might be caused by the lack of knowledge of the textbook writer about the semantic properties of objects (nouns), their relationship with the mental image development of the students. For better exposure of meanings of objects (nouns) in English textbooks, theories of reference and sense and other semantic properties of meaning must be taken into account. Keywords: reference, sense, elementary, mental image, textbook